


Revelation

by angelsandbrowncoats



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arkham Asylum, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, but not that much angst, ed vs. the riddler, for ed anyways lmao, for now, mentions of Martin, spoiler alert i call them both edward in my 3rd person narrative, spoilers for s4 e14: reunion, the year of realizing things, this isn't actually crack despite what the tags would lead you to believe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 00:41:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13986765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelsandbrowncoats/pseuds/angelsandbrowncoats
Summary: Alone in his cell, the Riddler hashes out the details of his plan with a very disgruntled Ed.





	Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely unedited, unplanned fic that just kind of channels all the emotions I felt from tonight's episode. I hope it makes sense, and I hope you all like it, but I promise neither!

_I just don’t understand, we were happy with Lee._

 

“Were we?” Edward’s voice rang out, unused to the echoing acoustics of Arkham.

 

_Well, let’s see: we weren’t in a cell back in this hellhole, for one. We had friends, we had a job, we had fun._

“Not that much fun,” he scoffed, folding the napkin he had taken from the mess hall into shape after shape until it became too weak to hold a form, “We had much more fun when we were me, I’ve been saying it the whole time.”

 

_But now we’re back in Arkham! Was taking control of our body really worth this to you?_

“Yes, you moron,” he muttered, “You still can’t see it, can you?”

 

_I? I can’t see it? I think it’s_ you _who is missing the point._

 

“Oh? And what point is that?”

 

_You’re really just going to go running back to Oswald, after all he did to us? After Isabella?_

 

“Hang Isabella! She was no better for us than Lee, worse even.”

 

_And yet_ you _shot him over her._

“I shot him for betraying us, not for killing her. I’d have killed her myself before long and you damn well know it. We learned that the first time around.”

 

_Then what about Oswald, hmm?_

 

“What about him?”

 

_You seem to have forgotten all the lessons when it comes to him._

“I don’t like what you’re implying.”

 

_Oh, so you aren’t cozying back up to him, then?_

“No! I – I’m just using him until his usefulness runs out, is all.”

 

_Really? I don’t believe you. You said it yourself – you were getting stronger. If you hadn’t provoked me, you could have taken over naturally, in time. But instead you sped up the process with the obvious result of being locked up in here. Why would you want that, unless there was someone in here that you wanted to be locked up with?_

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

 

_What’s so ridiculous about it? Other than the fact that he betrayed us and lied to us and tried to kill us? None of that matters, right, because we miss him?_

“I already told you, I’m just using him.”

 

_Then what’s the plan?_

 

“I – I – I’m still working on it.”

 

_Whatever helps you sleep at night._

 

And with that, he was gone. Edward collapsed onto his uncomfortable bunk, barely a noticeable change from his bed in the Narrows, rubbing at his eyelids in distress. Why did it have to be so hard? Could he really have come all this way just because he missed Oswald? But – But –

 

No, he needed to think about this rationally. He owed it to himself, after all he said about being in tune with his thoughts and feelings. He had to genuinely consider that Oswald’s presence at Arkham might have affected his decisions. But what did that mean?

 

Yes, he missed Oswald. He missed his friend. But… there couldn’t possibly be more to it, could there? Love was a weakness. Kristen had taught him that, Isabella had driven the nail home, and he had applied the lesson to Lee. Surely he didn’t _love_ Oswald.

 

And yet… _why_ was love a weakness?

 

Love was exploitable. The possibility of losing a loved one controlled your every action. Loved ones were weak, easily destroyed.

 

But Oswald was more cockroach than penguin. If anyone could survive Edward’s love, he _must_ be it.

 

Edward let himself imagine Oswald in a way he never had before – the way he had always imagined Kristen, in the days when he had been pining after her. He imagined holding Oswald’s hand, kissing him, sitting on a couch with his arm wrapped around him as they watched something old and cheesy. But something felt off. Could it be that he wasn’t in love after all?

 

No, it felt too right. Whatever was off was small. A detail, rather than the whole picture.

 

There was no denying it.

 

Edward Nygma, the Riddler, was in love with the Penguin.

 

“Oh dear.”

 

~          ~          ~

 

The next day, he watched Oswald from afar. After their first conversation, they had agreed to wait a few days before conspiring again, knowing they had a reputation of a connection, whether good or bad, known to just about everyone. But with his new information on the situation, he knew he had to speak with him sooner rather than later.

 

Every familiar mannerism observed made his heart flutter with want, while the twitches and shivers that were relatively new made his blood boil in a way he didn’t quite understand. Something inside him had snapped – not something angry, but something supportive. Some part of the old Penguin, some part that had held him together, was gone. And if Edward ever found out what it was and who broke it, there would be hell to pay. He swore it.

 

For now, he was largely concerned with how Oswald would react when Edward finally told him his latest revelation.

 

_Ideally_ , Oswald would be overjoyed, tell him that he still loved him back, and they would live happily ever after (once they had broken out, of course).

 

Edward was not particularly convinced that this would be the outcome.

 

Worst case scenario saw Oswald not only disbelieving, but enraged, assuming Edward had devised some new trick to torment him with. This scenario also involved a lot of physical pain, as well as the accompanying emotional agony, but no death. Oswald killing him was only the second worst scenario, because if he were dead, he at least would not have to dwell on Oswald’s hatred of him.

 

The most likely case, however, was that Oswald would simply not believe him, or not care, and nothing between them would change. Edward wasn’t particularly fond of this scenario, either.

 

When Oswald left the recreation room to return to his own cell, Edward waited a few heartbeats before excusing himself. The prison really had changed since he had last been there, with inmates being allowed to conduct themselves nearly independently between the various halls and rooms. Only the mess hall and the visiting rooms were off limits, the former because of the dangerous potential of plastic utensils, and the latter because they were designed for privacy.

 

As a result, Edward didn’t even have to sneak through the hallways in order to track Oswald to his cell, merely followed the way that he had memorized the very first night.

 

When he arrived, Oswald was reclining on his bed, eyes closed. He coughed, and they snapped open.

 

“Ed?” Oswald sat up, “Or should I say – Riddler?”

 

Edward smiled at the title – for that’s what it was, really. Now that Oswald recognized it, he had less qualms about being referred to by his given name. Oswald respected him now, and that’s what mattered.

 

“Oswald,” he whispered the name, trying it out in a way he never truly had before.

 

“Is there something you wanted? I thought we were going to wait another couple days?”

 

“Something has recently come to my attention that might be of some interest to you,” he began, as cryptically as ever, “A personal revelation, if you will.”

 

“Oh?” Oswald inquired, leaning forward slightly as his interest was piqued.

 

“A long time ago, when I was much more naïve than I am now, I told you something that I nearly meant. You misinterpreted it at the time, and I brushed it aside, deciding that I must have guessed wrong. It didn’t really matter, since I had never truly had a friend before, and I was more than happy to be your friend, regardless. But recent events have led me to believe my guess was more accurate than I was inclined to believe, so I will say it again, this time with the full knowledge of everything we’ve both been through.”

 

Oswald was frowning at him now, perhaps trying to decipher his meaning. Edward took a deep breath, knowing that what was coming would changed Oswald’s thoughts towards him permanently, and having no way of knowing if it would be for the better or for the worse.

 

“I cannot be bought, but I can be stolen with one glance. I’m worthless to one, but priceless to two. What am I?” he breathed out the last sentence, waiting in suspense for Oswald to react.

 

His heart beat once, loudly, resounding throughout his chest.

 

Then twice.

 

“Is this some kind of joke to you?” Oswald asked, but he didn’t seem angry. He seemed… weary. As if he’d been expecting this for a long time, but it didn’t make the experience of it any easier.

 

“No, Oswald,” he shook his head, “I understand why it might seem that way to you, but I promise you, I _do_ mean it. I – I love you. It took me far too long to figure that out, and even longer to accept it, but I finally have. I – I know that you may not feel the same way anymore, and I understand that, too. I just – I just wanted to tell you. I wanted you to know.”

 

Oswald took a deep breath of his own, letting out in a sigh as he processed his confession.

 

“You understand why I can’t trust you?” he asked finally, “Why I can’t take you at your word?”

 

Edward bowed his head in a defeated resignation, “I understand.”

 

He swallowed hard and blinked in shock when he felt a hand under his chin, drawing his face up to meet Oswald’s gaze.

 

“I’m not saying I don’t love you back. And I’m not saying I don’t believe you, either. I’m simply saying that I don’t trust you.”

 

“Oh,” Edward said, rather lost, but knowing that he quite liked Oswald’s hand being where it was.

 

“Would you kiss me?” Oswald asked, tone changing from considering to curious. Without saying a word, Edward answered by leaning forward and brushing his lips against Oswald’s, stealing the most dramatic kiss of his life thus far. Oswald dug his fingers into Edward’s hair, pulling him closer before letting him go.

 

“That was a good first start,” Oswald conceded, and with his hands on Edward’s skin, Edward’s attention was once again drawn to the fact that Oswald was shaking – a seemingly regular occurrence for him since his return to Arkham.

 

“Why are you so much more… nervous? And exhausted?” he decided to be straightforward in his questioning.

 

Oswald tensed, “There was… someone. Someone I cared for very, very much. And right now, he is in the hands of my greatest enemy.”

 

“I’m your greatest enemy,” Edward interrupted, eyelids fluttering shut as Oswald’s fingers began to stroke through his hair.

 

“Mhm,” Oswald said, continuing on, “She will harm him if she thinks I am getting too powerful. That I am sure of. And it _cannot_ happen.”

 

Edward mulled this over, and he hated the empty, aching feeling it left in his heart. He leaned into Oswald as he asked, “So there’s someone else?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“You – you fell in love with someone else?”

 

Oswald froze beneath him, and Edward waited for the worst, for Oswald to pull away, to strike him down, to reject him.

 

Instead, Oswald started laughing.

 

“What?” Edward demanded, wanting a reason for the laughter when he was on the verge of being in so much pain.

 

“I didn’t fall in love, you ridiculous, riddle-loving man! I grew to love a child, a boy I began to see as almost a son. There is absolutely no reason for you to be jealous!”

 

“You have… a son?”

 

“An almost-son.”

 

“And… he’s currently being held captive, with his life at stake should you try and rescue him?”

 

“That’s what I said, yes.”

 

“So… if I were to, perhaps, find a way to get him to safety, and get you free, you might – perhaps – find it in you to trust me a little bit more?”

 

“Perhaps,” Oswald nodded, “I would certainly feel I owed you something, if that’s appealing at all to you.”

 

“It might be,” Edward admitted. He joined Oswald on the bed, still wrapped in his arms with Oswald’s fingers in his hair. This was what had been wrong, he realized. He didn’t dream of holding Oswald the way he had dreamed of Kristen. He wanted Oswald to hold him. Preferably while they schemed together.

 

Laying back in Oswald’s embrace, he nuzzled into his – friend’s? lover’s? – neck and mumbled, “So tell me about this kid, and then we can get to work planning his rescue. How’s that?”

 

“It’s wonderful, Ed. Just perfect.”

 

And so it was.

**Author's Note:**

> The ending is kinda lame, I know, but like I said - I never planned for this to go anywhere anyway. 
> 
> Comments give me life, and also an excuse to ramble about this episode, which I clearly want to do, so if you have anything to say about my fic - or the show in general - go for it!
> 
> Update: My thanks to @unclepeter on tumblr, who translated this story to Russian, and you can read it at https://ficbook.net/readfic/6634060 !


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